Dr. Melanie Stuckey: Mental Health in Circus Arts
In this episode of the Circuspreneur Podcast, host Shenea Stiletto interviews Dr. Melanie Stuckey, a researcher in human performance and social innovation at HUPR (Human Potential Research Centre) affiliated with the National Circus School in Montreal. Her main focus is on factors affecting human performance through the lens of inclusive, holistic well-being alongside social innovation to support the flourishing of individuals and communities.
Melanie is the co-editor-in-chief of the Circus: Arts, Life, & Sciences journal, member of the Surveillance of Injuries for Research on Circus (SIRC) working group, and member of the Canadian College Research Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion Community of Practice Planning Committee. She is also a former pole dance and circus artist and coach.
Shenea Stiletto and Dr.Melanie Stuckey shine a spotlight on the latest mental health research and what it means for creative entrepreneurs in the circus world. From the unique pressures of performance to the challenges of running a business, mental well-being is at the heart of a sustainable career.
What was the focus of your presentation at the Performing Arts Medicine Association (PAMA) conference?
I spoke about mental health in circus artists, based on a review we did that was modeled after the International Olympic Committee’s consensus for elite athletes. While the IOC had over 600–700 research articles to work from, in circus we found just 16 — only three of which involved interventions, and none looked at pharmacological treatments. This gap means we lack evidence on how mental health medications might impact performance factors like reaction time, fatigue, and body composition. Given the demands of circus work — high emotional load, dangerous technical skills, and little structured mental health support — it’s critical we gather more targeted data and create strategies that transfer effectively into real-world circus contexts.
Why do you think structured mental health support in circus is still rare?
It’s largely due to the industry’s smaller size and limited budgets compared to sports. But it’s also about culture — you can have policies, social workers, and resources in place, but if the environment isn’t accepting, artists won’t use them. Many performers enter companies with ingrained beliefs that poor mental health is weakness and emotions shouldn’t be expressed. Changing that mindset requires intentional cultural shifts from training programs upward. Another factor is understanding that mental health, mental performance, and mental illness are distinct. You can have a diagnosed mental illness but high performance and flourishing mental health — and vice versa. Supporting all three areas requires a mix of medical, performance, and general well-being resources.
What are the biggest accessibility and implementation challenges?
Funding is the top barrier — grants are competitive, and circus is often seen as a niche sector, making it harder to prove national or broad community impact. Even with funding, meaningful change requires co-creation: researchers must work with artists, schools, and companies from the start to identify pressing needs. Then, research findings have to be translated back into practical tools the industry can use, while also reaching policymakers. One overlooked stakeholder group is company directors and budget decision-makers; engaging them could align artist health initiatives with economic priorities, showing that better mental health reduces turnover, injury costs, and other expenses.
How do training, certification, and coaching standards connect to mental health outcomes?
Many recreational and entry-level programs treat coaching as a hobby job, often with minimal training requirements. Certifications can be as short as a weekend and focus mainly on teaching skills, not safety, risk management, or emotional regulation. This can lead to gaps when students transition quickly from hobbyist to professional environments like Cirque du Soleil without adequate preparation. Coaches themselves may face stress and burnout from high demands without professional-level pay or recognition. Raising standards and integrating interpersonal skills, safety training, and emotional competency — even for hobbyist environments — would benefit everyone and help prevent mental health strain later in careers.
What key gaps and priorities do you see for future research and action?
Two critical but underexplored concepts are:
Emotional labor: The strain of performing emotions on cue, managing fear, and operating under constant risk.
Body capital: The pressure of being valued primarily for physical capability and appearance, with limited opportunity to step away from that spotlight.
Both can significantly affect mental health. Greater awareness of these factors would help inform targeted interventions. From a practical standpoint, integrating mental health literacy, emotional regulation strategies, and interpersonal skills into all levels of circus training — from hobbyists to professionals — would build resilience and performance readiness. And from a research perspective, expanding data collection, especially on medication impacts and effective interventions, will be essential for creating policy and practice changes across the global circus industry.
Key Takeaways
Major research gap – Only 16 circus mental health studies exist vs. 600+ in elite sports.
Culture matters – Stigma and old attitudes block artists from seeking help, even when resources exist.
Funding & buy-in needed – Circus seen as niche; must engage company directors to link well-being to bottom line.
Training impacts health – Low coaching standards can lead to stress, burnout, and safety issues.
Hidden stressors – Emotional labor and body capital heavily influence mental well-being.
Listen to this Episode on:
Spotify / Apple Podcasts / YouTube
Shenea was also a finalist on America’s Got Talent and has continued to be a featured artist with prominent circus entertainment companies worldwide.
Editor's Note: At StageLync, an international platform for the performing arts, we celebrate the diversity of our writers' backgrounds. We recognize and support their choice to use either American or British English in their articles, respecting their individual preferences and origins. This policy allows us to embrace a wide range of linguistic expressions, enriching our content and reflecting the global nature of our community.
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